Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 357 PM EDT Wed Oct 16 2019 Valid 00Z Thu Oct 17 2019 - 00Z Sat Oct 19 2019 ...High winds and heavy rainfall likely through Thursday across the Northeast with a deep low pressure system... ...Rain and mountain snow expected for the Pacific Northwest into the Northern/Central Rockies... A surface low is currently intensifying rapidly and will continue to do so as it moves northward across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast tonight into Thursday. Heavy rain of 2 to 3+ inches is expected for much of the Northeast through Thursday as moisture levels are high, and the depth of the low and the anomalously strong upper-level winds will lead to high winds especially for coastal New England, and into the Mid-Atlantic as well. The upper-level pattern and the westerly winds behind a cold front could create gusty winds for the Appalachians too on Thursday. The cold front will also usher in cooler temperatures, with the eastern half of the country 5 to 20 degrees below average for high temperatures on Thursday. Rain showers, with even some snow showers in higher elevations, are forecast to continue into Friday for interior New England. A couple of cold fronts moving through the western U.S. will lead to increased precipitation chances. The Pacific Northwest in particular could see heavy rain and mountain snow as multiple rounds of higher moisture stream in. One front is expected to move through the Great Basin and Northern Rockies on Thursday and through the Central Rockies on Friday, causing rain and higher elevation snow along it while lowering temperatures. Ahead of this front, however, warm temperatures in the 70s and even 80s are expected from the Rockies to High Plains on Thursday, and above normal temperatures push into the Upper Midwest on Friday. These warm conditions and low humidity as well as gusty winds will lead to conditions favorable for fires in the Central Great Basin to Central Rockies and High Plains. Elsewhere, a front lingering near the Gulf Coast will lead to showers and thunderstorms there, particularly on Friday as a low approaches and moisture increases. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are also possible in the central U.S. by Friday along and ahead of the cold front coming from the western U.S. Tate Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php